Technology, RFID, VeriChip, Human Tracking, Privacy, Credit Cards, Identity, Theft
SOURCE: NYTIMES.com
ID Chip May Not Be a Money Maker
By BARNABY J. FEDER
Published: November 1, 2004
THE recent news that the Food and Drug Administration had approved an implantable microchip for humans has garnered a lot of attention. But that does not mean that the idea of chips as personal identity tags will ever generate profits.
The device, called the VeriChip and marketed by Applied Digital Solutions, horrified privacy advocates, who were concerned less with its F.D.A.-approved use than with where the technology might lead, declaring that people could become walking bar codes. Investors, however, piled into Applied Digital's stock, sending it up 68 percent, to $3.57, on Oct. 13, the day of the announcement. The shares, which are listed on the Nasdaq, later climbed as high as $4.62. On Friday, the shares closed at $4, up 19 cents, or 5 percent.
Moving quickly to exploit the optimism, Applied Digital announced on Oct. 22 that it had raised $11.9 million in a private sale of 2.5 million shares at $3.61 a share, and warrants to buy nearly 2.2 million shares. The purchaser was Satellite Strategic Finance Associates, an investment company that bought $2 million of shares of Applied Digital in April.
It is far from clear, however, whether the F.D.A. approval actually moved Applied Digital far enough toward...
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